Developing on-campus work-integrated learning activities ... · 2012). Therefore, WIL activities...

Developing on-campus work-integrated learning

activities: The value of integrating community and

industry partners into the creative arts curriculum

KATJA FLEISCHMANN1

James Cook University, Townsville, Australia

Work-integrated learning (WIL) is increasingly identified as essential to helping creative arts students’ transition from

university into the creative industries workplace. Off-campus activities, such as work placements, play a major role in

educating work-ready graduates. At the same time, increasing enrolment numbers in creative arts education put

pressure on institutions, in particular on campuses in regional areas where the local creative industry sector is usually

small and unable to provide enough relevant work placements. Viable alternatives were explored by investigating on-

campus WIL activities in creative arts education and how to offer students the opportunity to develop work-ready skills

on-campus. Consequently, community and industry partners in various roles (e.g. client, industry advisor/mentor)

were directly integrated into the creative arts curriculum and trialed over a period of two years. The benefits and

insights gained by students through undertaking a client-based project and contact with industry professionals were

investigated and are discussed in this exploratory study. (Asia-Pacific Journal of Cooperative Education, 2015, 16(1), 25-38

Keywords: Creative arts education, industry integration, work placement, curriculum design, employability, work-

integrated learning

Work-integrated learning (WIL) in higher education provides students with an opportunity

to apply theoretical knowledge and skills in a practical context in an academic program. WIL

is “seen by universities both as a valid pedagogy and as a means to respond to demands by

employers for work-ready graduates” (Patrick et al., 2008, p. v). Certain disciplines in higher

education (e.g., nursing, education, engineering) have great experience with WIL, as students

are required to undertake work placements (e.g., internship, practicum) as part of their

degree (Patrick et al., 2008; Daniel & Daniel, 2013). In higher creative arts education, learning

activities under the umbrella of WIL have rather recently been adapted but have been

identified as effective strategy towards aligning creative arts education more closely with

industry expectations. Various studies revealed that current creative arts education fails to

equip students with expertise and skills for requirements of the creative industries (Ball, 2003;

Design Council and Creative & Cultural Skills, 2007; Whyte & Bessant, 2007). In Australia,

employability reports showed that creative arts students are not sufficiently prepared to

bridge the gap between university and industry (e.g., Haukka, 2010; Kirchmajer, & Rowley,

2012). Therefore, WIL activities are increasingly developed and integrated into creative arts

degrees.

Engaging creative arts students in work experience in the creative industries appears

currently the prevalent solution to provide them opportunities to apply theory to real life

practice. This off-campus WIL approach, however, poses some challenges for institutions,

for example, providing enough placements to satisfy all creative arts students. Other

challenges emerge when considering the changing workplace environment, with virtual

workplaces becoming more common in the creative industries. This makes it difficult for

students to observe workplace culture face-to-face in real time. Another consideration might

1 Corresponding author: Katja Fleischmann, [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

FLEISCHMANN: Developing on-campus WIL activities

Asia-Pacific Journal of Cooperative Education, 2015, 16(1), 25-38 26

be the online delivery of creative arts education, which will raise interesting questions about

managing work placements.

Although some authors argue that ”workplace as the context of practice provides for

authentic learning not able to be fully simulated in the university campus environment”

(Davis, Franz, & Plakalovic, 2009, p. 2), it is nevertheless inevitable to look at alternatives that

offer students similar experiences on-campus. WIL encompasses off-campus and on-campus

learning experiences, including service learning and project-based learning (Smith & Smith,

2010). Nevertheless, Coll et al., (2009) argue that there is often “little evidence of direct

explicit attempts to integrate on- and off-campus learning” into one curriculum (p. 5). The

need to develop a stronger on-campus WIL portfolio is argued by Daniel and Daniel (2013),

who suggest that a staged approach of on-campus WIL activities, such as observing industry

practice, educator-led on-campus internship-style experiences, and a student-led project

work, ”could lay the platform for a much more successful transition to the creative arts

industry sector”(p. 150).

Various questions, in search for viable alternatives of on-campus WIL activities that could

substitute or complement work placements, were explored: What do students learn when

undertaking a work placement? Are there other ways to bring theory and practice together?

Can on-campus WIL activities create similar experiences for creative arts students? Which

on-campus WIL activities would be suitable? This paper presents some insight from the

literature and reports on strategies that have been trialed in a creative arts learning

environment.

WIL IN CREATIVE ARTS EDUCATION: LEARNING IN THE WORKPLACE

Learning in the workplace is one of the most prominent WIL approaches discussed in the

literature across disciplines. Although there is comparable little literature about WIL in

higher creative arts education in general, most focuses on off-campus activities, labeled work

placement, internship, work-based learning, practicum placement or industry training. WIL

in creative arts education has a young history (Franz, 2008; Patrick et al., 2008). For example,

according to Collis (2010) ”there is little professional tradition of internships” in the creative

industries (p. 3). Many creative arts academics and also industry professionals who offer

internships have not experienced WIL and are unfamiliar with such formal for-credit work

placements (Collis, 2010). Nevertheless, work placements under WIL have been increasingly

considered and implemented in the creative arts curriculum (Daniel & Daniel, 2013).

Work placements in creative arts education are usually offered towards the end of a

student’s degree (Davis, Franz, & Plakalovic, 2009). They can vary in length, ranging from 20

hours to four-week placements (e.g., Collis, 2010; Daniel & Daniel, 2013). Some institutions

provide a 12-month paid placement, which extends a three-year bachelor degree to four

years (Naylor, Bhati, & Kidd, 2010).

Various learning outcomes for creative arts students who engage in learning in the

workplace are highlighted in the literature. Coll et al. (2009) argue that ”skills gained in off-

campus learning are mostly behavioral/soft ’people‘ skills such as communication, time

management along with an understanding of workplace culture, treating others with respect,

a good work ethic, and developing a sense of professionalism’”(p. 4). Franz (2008) argues

that learning in the workplace ”enables students to experience multiple roles and



perspectives, to work collaboratively and reflectively, to apply theory in ’real‘ situations, and

to begin to learn the discourse of the profession” (p. 2). Savage (2005) points out that

students learn ”in the slipstream of general engagement with practice in the company of

experts” (p. 8).

Daniel and Daniel (2013) investigated the value and impact of industry-based internships in

the creative and performing arts and found them significantly beneficial for students, who

can develop industry insights and a range of new skills during the work placement.

Students are able to experience the “live nature of working with clients [and] meeting strict

deadlines” (Daniel & Daniel, 2013, p. 148). In some cases, however, experiences were seen as

challenging and ”indicative of the differences between the worlds of study and work”(Daniel

& Daniel, 2013, p. 148).

Although there is a growing number of creative arts degree programs in Australia offering

work placements with student learning programs (Clements & Cord, 2011; Daniel & Daniel,

2013), it is not yet mandatory for creative arts students to undertake work placement before

entering the profession. Challenges that students and educators encounter in connection

with learning in the creative industries workplace may account for this situation. Collis (2010)

argues that ”many positions in the creative industries are project-based rather than

organization based” making each experience different and positions are in flux. This leads to

Clements and Cord’s (2011) argument that different work-place experiences are challenging

when developing assessment strategies. Some authors (e.g., Patrick et al., 2008; Naylor, Bhati,

& Kidd, 2010) even argue that all students are not suitable to be placed in a work setting, for

various academic or professional reasons.

A challenge for creative arts education is to offer relevant workplace experience as an

integral part of the curriculum. These sectors include music and performing arts; film,

television and radio; advertising and marketing; software development and interactive

content; writing, publishing and print media; and architecture, design and visual arts (Higgs,

Cunningham, & Pagan, 2007). Although “governments worldwide recognize that creative

industries are a significant force in the modern economy” (Australian Government, 2011), the

industry consists mainly of micro and small-to-medium enterprises (Lennon, Hearn, Higgs,

& Ninan, 2005; Design Council, 2010). In Australia, for example, “98% of creative businesses

employ fewer than 20 employees [and] a large proportion of creative businesses are turning

over less than $200,000 a year” (Creative Industries Innovation Centre, 2013, p. 44).

Therefore, many creative businesses lack the resources to develop workplace learning

positions (Patrick et al., 2008; Smith & Smith, 2010). An Australian metropolitan university

reported that ”over a year there can be up to 200 industry partners involved in supporting

creative industries students on internships”, which are not enough partners to provide the

work placements (Smith & Smith, 2010, p. 4). Draper and Hitchcock (2006) confirm that

students are not guaranteed work placements but need to apply to the competitive

placements (Draper & Hitchcock, 2006).

In regional areas of Australia, an additional challenge emerges as creative industries are

fewer than in metropolitan areas (Creative Industries Innovation Centre, 2013), while at the

same time, enrolment numbers in creative arts degrees are rising in Australia (STP, 2009). At

the author’s institution, creative arts students increased from 50 in 2007 to over 130 in 2014.

While this is a positive development, the regional creative arts industry has grown only

http://eprints.qut.edu.au/view/person/Ninan,_Abraham.html



slightly between 2006 and 2011 (Daniel, Welters, & Fourie, 2013) and will most likely not be

able to provide enough suitable work placements for students in the future. Therefore, it is

timely to look at other WIL approaches to be integrated on-campus and explore to what

extent they offer a viable alternative to learning in the workplace.

CAMPUS-BASED WIL IN CREATIVE ARTS EDUCATION

Some evidence exists of utilizing on-campus WIL activities in creative arts education. For

some time, creative arts educators have offered learning activities with authentic intent (e.g.,

McCoy, 1998; Drew, 2007; Shreeve, 2011). A typical example is project-based learning—

students work individually or in groups on projects, which simulate real world challenges—

which introduces students to problem solving and decision making when generating a

finished product. Authenticity of such projects could be increased through inviting industry

and/or community partners as real-world clients to the learning environment. Many creative

arts disciplines (e.g., design, illustration, photography) do provide a service to clients, and

introducing students to this client-service relationship on-campus could be one way of

creating an experience for students. According to Wodehouse (2008); Butcher and Schaber,

(2011); and Canniffe, (2011), students gain valuable experiences through being engaged in

real-world projects to develop commercial understanding and perceive social responsibility.

Choi (2009) and others (e.g., Rothstein, 2002; Innes, 2006) see many benefits for clients

providing real-world projects for students to experience practical design constraints and

deadlines. Ghory-Goodman (2010) sees the benefits of engaging students in real-world

projects, however, points out that “teachers have to balance the value of problems with the

necessity of choosing assignments that are meaningful and appropriate within the sequence

of the curriculum”.

Fassbender, Taylor, and Houtmeyers (2012) describe a practical example of such on-campus

WIL approach. Students worked in teams on video productions for real-world clients. This

particular approach was chosen to teach students about project management and

collaboration skills, which would possibly develop during a work placement. The real-

world clients were asked to frequently join the class to ensure communication between

student and client. According to Fassbender, Taylor, and Houtmeyers (2012) results were

satisfactory in regards to the capacity of the WIL unit to facilitate the development of

workforce-ready students. These students were able to develop problem-solving skills, work

with a team, sharpen analytical skills, develop a stronger ability to plan and organize, and

feel confident about tackling new problems. Overall, students were highly motivated,

despite an increased workload in the WIL unit compared to traditional study units.

Fassbender, Taylor, and Houtmeyers (2012) concluded this “approach proved highly

effective and was praised by students and the clients” (p. 7).

Another crucial part of work placement is the mentoring of students by creative arts

professionals (Coll et al., 2009; Smith & Smith, 2010). Learning activities where students

interface with industry professionals during their studies and on-campus activities would be

desirable. Indeed, contact with, and input from, creative arts industry professionals is key to

closing the gap between industries and universities. The Design Skill Advisory Panel

(Design Council and Creative & Cultural Skills, 2007) conducted a major study into planning

for the future of the design industry in the UK and recommended that universities and

colleges set up “a network of visiting design professors [practicing designers and design

managers] to better connect higher education with professional practice” (p. 42).



At Whitehead’s (2012) institution, this recommendation was put into practice in innovative

ways. Whitehead introduces the approach as ‘work-informed learning’, a student-led plan

for interior design students that aims “to increase a student’s potential professionalism and

employability through the acquisition of ‘transferable‘ skills that bridged the gap between

the world of university and the world of work”. Students are asked to recruit a design

professional who would mentor them for 12 months. The mentor would meet with the

student four times. According to Whitehead (2012), the mentor scheme “is viewed by

industry as less onerous on their time than a formal work experience because of its inherent

flexibility”. On the downside, Whitehead (2012) points out that that it “takes a degree of

perseverance to successfully gain a mentor and build a relationship with them”. While trials

are in their early stages, interim feedback from students revealed that the industry mentor

process helped make students “more aware of the industry and how it works beyond

university”. It provided students with a professional view of their work and supported the

development of transferable skills, for example, students practiced networking and self-

promotion.

When reviewing how WIL is implemented in creative arts education, it became evident that

great focus is placed on learning through work placements. On-campus WIL approaches are

less well-represented in the literature but appear to simulate the workplace experience,

offering students similar learning outcomes. In context of the challenge to offer suitable

work placements to creative arts students at the author’s institution, it was necessary to

explore viable on-campus WIL alternatives to work placements.

INTEGRATING COMMUNITY AND INDUSTRY PARTNERS

The author teaches at a creative arts school at a medium-size regional Australian university,

which offers a bachelor of new media arts degree. Introduction to Web Design is a second-year

subject about website design and production. It was selected to implement on-campus WIL

activities and the following activities have been implemented:

1. project-based learning structured around a real-world project, which introduces

a community or industry client to the classroom;

2. mentorship and guidance through creative arts industry professionals by inviting

them to the classroom and providing feedback on students’ work; and

3. creative industries observation and networking, which requires students to

contact design professionals to explore current practices, analyze creative arts

industry businesses and explore employment prospects.

This was set up so that student teams worked on a not-for-profit real-world project provided

by a community client who required help in the creation and production of a website. The

client delivered a project briefing during a lecture, was available to answer questions

throughout the seven-week project, attended final project presentations by students and

provided feedback on project outcomes to students.

In addition, a creative arts industry professional from a regional web design business

(different each year) was invited to share industry experiences via a lecture. Students then

presented their website projects at a developmental stage (five weeks into the project) to the

web design industry expert and were given feedback.



Each student was also required to contact at least two web or multimedia design businesses

in Australia to explore current practices via an interview-style conversation using phone,

Skype or email. Students were given the same set of questions and encouraged to add their

own questions in areas of interest. Students asked questions, such as, “How many people

work on a website project?” “What disciplines are involved in creating a complex website?”

“What kind of graduate would you employ in your web design business?” Students shared

their findings with the class in a presentation.

METHOD

This study reports on a two year trial in which the research focused on exploring the extent

to which the on-campus WIL activities were viable alternatives to work placements,

specifically to the extent that students had the opportunity to gain insight into industry

realities and forms of practice. The research aim was to explore student perceptions of the

benefits and insights gained through undertaking a client based project and contact with

industry professionals. A pragmatic research paradigm, which enabled the researcher to

choose methods that suit the real-world nature of the situation (Creswell, 2008; Punch, 2009),

was adopted in this study. The general approach was inductive and had an overall drive of

exploration and discovery (Morse & Niehaus, 2009). To evaluate the effectiveness of the on-

campus WIL activities implemented in the subject Introduction to Web Design, views from

stakeholders, about benefits and challenges on integrating community and industry partners

in various roles (client, network opportunity, to share professional insights and act as

industry advisor/mentor) into the learning environment, were explored.

Feedback from two stakeholder groups (students and educators) was investigated to enable

triangulation, therefore allowing comparisons of multiple data sources to provide for

validation and a more complete picture of the problem (Teddlie & Tashakkori, 2009). In two

iterations of the subject, 52 undergraduate creative arts students (20 in Trial 1 and 32 in Trial

2) and two educators were surveyed. Students were surveyed anonymously, using online

questionnaires in the final week of the class. The questionnaire contained closed-ended

questions with multiple-choice answers, which were used to generate an initial overview of a

situation. A closed-ended question was usually followed by an open-ended question, which

explored rationales for answer choice. Questionnaires would not only return data on

measurable indicators (e.g., how many students experienced feedback from industry

professional as beneficial?) but would also provide deeper insight into the researched

phenomena (e.g., why did you find the experiences beneficial/challenging? please explain)

through collecting qualitative feedback with open-ended questions.

Perspectives from educators were explored by using face-to-face interviews, which took the

form of semi-structured conversations (Kvale, 2007). The direct verbal interaction with

educators allows probing, clarifying and reacting to responses to gain deeper insight (Bouma

& Ling, 2004). For example, a typical line of questioning was: “Do you see benefits in

engaging creative arts industry professionals into the learning environment? If yes, how do

think students benefitted? If no, why not?”

Data analysis was conducted as follows: For quantitative data obtained using online

questionnaires, the survey platform (Survey Monkey) automatically provided basic statistical

data, such as the tally of response totals, percentages and response counts. Qualitative data

obtained from responses to open-ended questions in questionnaires from students and



interviews (duration from 20 to 60 minutes) from educators were coded using the research

analysis software NVivo. Prior to starting the analysis, two broad coding categories existed

as a consequence of the areas explored. These were perceived ‘benefits’ and ‘challenges’.

The text was first segmented into these categories. Within these broad coding categories,

meaningful subcategories often emerged early in the analysis, e.g., advantage, gain industry

insights.

FINDINGS

On-Campus WIL Activities: Student Perspective

Table 1 presents creative arts students’ reflections on the involvement of a community client

providing a real-world project in the two subject trials where this was employed as a core

strategy.

TABLE 1: Creative arts students’ reflections on the process of engaging directly with a real-

world client

Question Response options

Response percent and

number of student

respondents (x) in relevant

subject trials

If you have a choice

when developing a

website project at

university, would you

prefer?

working on a real-world

project for a real client?

Trial 1 80% (15)

Trial 2 72% (23)

working on a fictional

project?

Trial 1 20% (4)

Trial 2 28% (9)

Four key themes emerged in the qualitative feedback received in questionnaires in both trials

(38 comments); students identified the following benefits in working on real-world projects:

introduces students to real-world requirements and makes them ready for the world

of work;

students take projects more seriously and work harder to produce a better result;

students equate learning to an actual experience in the web design industry; and

feedback that students received was considered ‘real feedback’.

Although findings from questionnaires returned positive results about students’ engagement

with real-world clients, 13 creative arts students across both subject trials (25%) would prefer

working on a fictional project. The reasons were twofold: first, some students perceived a

real-world project as too stressful; second, some students preferred first practicing on a

fictional project, feeling that they would be more creative before advancing to the constraints

of a real-world project. The following comments illustrate these perspectives. “There isn't as

much pressure to get it perfect. We can make mistakes and learn from them and it doesn't

feel like it's a ‘life or death’ thing” (Creative Arts student 4) and Creative Arts student 11

stated that “with a fictional project we can experiment with different things to start to create



our own style, then move up to a real client when we have learnt a lot about web and

design”.

Findings about students’ reflections on the process of engaging directly with creative

industry professionals by contacting multimedia design companies are presented in Table 2.

Students’ reflections about feedback from creative industry professionals in the classroom are

presented in Table 3.

TABLE 2: Creative arts students’ reflections on the process of engaging directly with creative

arts industry professionals in the industry



number of student

respondents (x) in

relevant subject trials

You were asked to contact

and research multimedia

design companies in

Australia. How did you

like the assignment?

I think it is good to engage

with the industry.

Trial 1 79% (15)

Trial 2 74% (23)

I can’t see the benefits. Trial 1 21% (4)

Trial 2 26% (8)

More detail about students’ reasoning was provided in 37 comments via questionnaire in

both trials. Students identified the following benefits in directly contacting creative industry

professionals, in that they gained insight into:

the diversity of businesses they could work for and forms of employment available;

abilities and skills to develop to secure employment in the creative industries; and

the importance of self-promotion.

Some students said that it helps them to make contacts and to establish network

opportunities within the creative industries. Creative Arts student 7 noted that “it did shed

some light on what kind of skills employers are looking for when we enter the workforce. I

was surprised by how many different [software] programs we are expected to know” and

Creative Arts student 23 wrote that “I learned that you have to sell yourself better than

others”. Another student provided insight by saying:

It was a good way for understanding what it takes in the industry and what was

really interesting, how many people work in each company, some were just one

person and they hire freelancers. This was interesting to me as it made me think about

employment opportunities at the end of my degree. (Creative Arts student 2)

From a total of 37 comments across both trials, students identified these benefits in engaging

directly with creative industry professionals in the classroom environment:

students gain industry insights and understand professional practice;

input from professionals was valuable and helped understanding industry

requirements; and

prepares students for real life.



TABLE 3: Creative arts students’ reflections on the process of engaging directly with creative

arts industry professionals in the classroom



number of student

respondents (x) in relevant

subject trials

Did you find the

feedback from the

creative industry

professionals helpful?

Yes Trial 1 70% (14)

Trial 2 94% (30)

No Trial 1 30% (6)

Trial 2 6% (2)

The following comments illustrate typical reasoning of creative arts students:

“It is very helpful and constructive and prepares us for the real world” (Creative Arts

student 13). While Creative Arts student 18) stated: “It was a good way for understanding

what it takes in the industry and how many people work in each company and in what kind

of jobs. This was interesting to me as it made me think about employment opportunities at

the end of my course”.

Some students argued that they did not benefit from the feedback from these professionals,

especially in Trial 1. The following reasons were given:

industry professional does not understand what kind of feedback is required to

guide learning process;

adds stress and pressure; and

the feedback was ambiguous.

Typical of the students reasoning are the following comments. “She really didn't give us

much feedback at all. Lots of nodding and a few compliments. Nothing really helpful”

(Creative Arts student 7) and “I received feedback from the industry professional, but then

the lectures had opposite views so it became confusing” (Creative Arts student 3).

The feedback from students about engaging with professionals directly shows that while the

industry research project yielded similar feedback distribution across both trials, the

satisfaction of students in receiving feedback from creative industries professionals varies

greatly in both trials (30% in Trial 1; 6% in Trial 2). One reason may be that different

professionals were invited in each trial.

On-Campus WIL Activities: Educator Perspective

Educator reflections on the extent to which creative arts students had the opportunity to

develop an understanding of industry realities and practice through engaging community

and industry as clients and advisors was positive. Educators pointed out that students are

provided with an additional ‘real’ perspective: “having an actual person from industry talk

about what they do [in the web design industry] is definitely valid….There is a second



opinion in there…giving students specific feedback was good” (Educator in Trial 1). Another

one said:

There’s a sense of the external…students respect the clients, it’s somebody other than

us. It’s an actual audience that they’re dealing with. Then the feedback at the end is

from the person who wanted the website in the first place... Some of the things in the

feedback were particularly important, because it shows what an actual client thinks,

which some of it was quite different from us (Educator in Trial 2).

Educators saw both the interaction with real-world clients and creative industry

professionals as beneficial to students’ development. Students were able to gain real-world

experience and insight into industry practices, which educators felt prepares them for

professional practice.

On further exploration, educators stated that no major challenges were presented through

the involvement of industry and community in the learning environment. One educator

acknowledged that engaging students with industry might take them out of their comfort

zone but argued that such an experience is critical.

DISCUSSION OF RESULTS

Engaging creative arts students in real-world, project-based learning has created positive

outcomes. Over 70% of students in both trials would prefer working for a real-world client

on projects. Creative arts students felt they were exposed to real-world requirements; they

were able to experience a strict deadline, which required a presentation of their work to the

client. Students also needed to interact with the client and experienced the difference

between a client-service relationship and student-educator relationship. For the former, that

included added pressure to produce a high-quality outcome to the client’s satisfaction, which

some students experienced as stressful. However, this simulates quite authentically a

workplace situation with which professionals are often confronted. Engaging with the real-

world client allowed creative arts students to experience real-world constraints, such as

budget limitations, technological limits or end-user expectations. In comparison students in

work placements experienced this situation as ‘dealing with difficult clients’ (Daniel &

Daniel, 2013). Indeed, experience in interacting with real clients in the workplace is seen as a

critical factor to the development of students’ understanding of professional practice (Daniel

& Daniel, 2013). The qualitative feedback from creative arts students suggests that exposure

to real-world projects and interaction with real-world clients in the classroom can contribute

to achieving similar learning outcomes.

What is notable from the data presented is that the majority of creative arts students and

educators reflected positively on the experience of direct engagement with creative industry

professionals, despite the format of such engagement (i.e., direct feedback or research

industry). The positive outcomes of mentoring of creative arts students directly in a

workplace (e.g., Coll et al., 2009; Daniel & Daniel, 2013) or through an on-campus mentoring

program (Whitehead, 2012) have been highlighted in the literature. While the duration of

work placements appears to vary greatly, it can be argued that one interaction with creative

industries professionals can hardly substitute for a long-term mentorship, such as mentioned

by Naylor, Bhati and Kidd, 2010. Nevertheless, on-campus activities (direct feedback,



contacting professionals) as trialed in this study can give students exposure to the

professional world, its expectations and opportunities about employment.

Certainly, some students found it difficult to contact and interview design professionals

directly, although this could partly be influenced by the fact that it required students to step

outside their comfort zones. In this situation, students had to initiate engagement as

opposed to professionals coming to them.

Regardless of the ways that creative arts students interacted with creative industry

professionals and real-world clients, it did require them to test their communication skills,

present themselves competently and learn about professional behavior. The project required

students to work towards a real deadline, and they needed to engage in time and project

management to handle the group work and individual member contributions. It appears

that introducing real-world projects provided by a client from industry or community allows

students to develop skills similar to those developed in off-campus learning situations, as

argued by Coll et al. (2009). Students also had to engage with multiple perspectives about

their project, provided by peers, creative industries professional, client and educator,

described by Franz (2008) and Whitehead (2012) as a desirable learning outcome of students

engaging in work placements. Indeed dealing with ambiguous feedback was considered as

challenging by some students in this study. Nevertheless, navigating such feedback

constructively will be part of most creative arts graduates’ future workplace.

Findings suggest that creative arts students were able to gain insight into industry and forms

of practice that can help to develop a better understanding of industry realities. It is positive

that these on-campus WIL activities contributed to their preparedness for ‘real life’ and hence

support the development of work-ready attributes. Developing the ability to start building

networks with creative industry professionals, a conclusion discussed by Whitehead (2012),

is an additional beneficial outcome of these trials contributing to students’ readiness for work.

Reported challenges relating to students’ interaction with industry and community partners

could be a consequence of different stages that each stakeholder group was at. Professionals

were from a deadline-driven industry, a high-expectant community; while students were

from an undergraduate academic environment, learning skills and developing knowledge.

CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS

In search for viable alternatives of on-campus WIL activities that could substitute or

complement work placements in the creative arts curriculum, the effectiveness of integrating

community and industry partners in the subject Introduction to Web Design was investigated

in a two year trial. Views from students and educators about benefits, challenges and

insights gained through integrating community and industry partners in various roles (client,

network opportunity, to share professional insights and act as industry advisor/mentor) into

the learning environment were explored.

While the involvement of external stakeholders requires time and effort in the establishment

of projects and trust among the parties, the benefits propose that this practice could form an

ongoing part of the learning environment for creative arts students. Providing these students

with the opportunity to interact with real-world professionals on-campus allowed creative

arts students to experience real-world demands, such as working towards deadlines,



presenting and negotiating ideas and communicating with a range of audiences (e.g., peers,

client, educator, end user). Students gained insight into requirements of their future

workplace and were able to develop relevant skills. Similar outcomes emerged as a result of

integrating creative professionals into the learning environment (on-campus and through

research exercises) with students interacting and networking with these industry experts.

Certainly relationship between industry/community and university can create their own set

of complexities that require careful managing to make them mutually beneficial to all

partners, but most importantly for students. Challenges experienced by some students need

monitoring and further research. Although community client and creative arts industry

professionals involved in this two year trial were overall positive about the outcomes, a more

in-depth study exploring their perspectives will be conducted in future iterations of this

subject.

“While there are still benefits to be gained from a once in a course experience of work”

(Davis, Franz & Plakalovic, 2009, p. 2) there is a trend emerging with institutions working

towards integrating off- and on-campus WIL in complementary ways to provide an

overarching framework for a degree. Implementing WIL approaches in a sequential design

in the creative arts curriculum are under discussion (see Davis, Franz & Plakalovic, 2009;

Daniel & Daniel, 2013). Findings from these trials contributed to formalizing project-based

learning and client involvement into a sequential WIL framework at the Faculty of Law,

Business and Creative Arts at the author’s institution. On-campus WIL activities integrated

across three degrees in the faculty (including creative arts) are intended to supplement a

voluntary chosen workplace experience. On-campus learning activities include learning

through observation, simulation and reflection on a foundational level (year 1); real-world,

project-based learning with external clients via an internally managed project on a

developmental level (year 2 or year 3); and culminating in adopting a leadership role in year

3 final semester capstone experience/project (Daniel & Shircore, 2012).

The implementation of the WIL framework has started in the faculty. More research needs to

be undertaken to monitor the effectiveness of these WIL strategies and to continue to

evaluate learning outcomes for students’ on-campus engagement with real-world clients and

creative industry professionals across all schools of the faculty.

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About the Journal

The Asia-Pacific Journal of Cooperative Education publishes peer-reviewed original research, topical issues, and best practice

articles from throughout the world dealing with Cooperative Education (Co-op) and Work Integrated Learning/Education

(WIL).

In this Journal, Co-op/WIL is defined as an educational approach that uses relevant work-based projects that form an

integrated and assessed part of an academic program of study (e.g., work placements, internships, practicum). These

programs should have clear linkages with, or add to, the knowledge and skill base of the academic program. These programs

can be described by a variety of names, such as work-based learning, workplace learning, professional training, industry-

based learning, engaged industry learning, career and technical education, internships, experiential education, experiential

learning, vocational education and training, fieldwork education, and service learning.

The Journal’s main aim is to allow specialists working in these areas to disseminate their findings and share their knowledge

for the benefit of institutions, co-op/WIL practitioners, and researchers. The Journal desires to encourage quality research and

explorative critical discussion that will lead to the advancement of effective practices, development of further understanding

of co-op/WIL, and promote further research.

Submitting Manuscripts

Before submitting a manuscript, please unsure that the ‘instructions for authors’ has been followed

(www.apjce.org/instructions-for-authors). All manuscripts are to be submitted for blind review directly to the Editor-in-Chief

([email protected]) by way of email attachment. All submissions of manuscripts must be in MS Word format, with manuscript

word counts between 3,000 and 5,000 words (excluding references).

All manuscripts, if deemed relevant to the Journal’s audience, will be double blind reviewed by two reviewers or more.

Manuscripts submitted to the Journal with authors names included with have the authors’ names removed by the Editor-in-

Chief before being reviewed to ensure anonymity.

Typically, authors receive the reviewers’ comments about a month after the submission of the manuscript. The Journal uses a

constructive process for review and preparation of the manuscript, and encourages its reviewers to give supportive and

extensive feedback on the requirements for improving the manuscript as well as guidance on how to make the amendments.

If the manuscript is deemed acceptable for publication, and reviewers’ comments have been satisfactorily addressed, the

manuscript is prepared for publication by the Copy Editor. The Copy Editor may correspond with the authors to check details,

if required. Final publication is by discretion of the Editor-in-Chief. Final published form of the manuscript is via the Journal

website (www.apjce.org), authors will be notified and sent a PDF copy of the final manuscript. There is no charge for

publishing in APJCE and the Journal allows free open access for its readers.

Types of Manuscripts Sought by the Journal

Types of manuscripts the Journal accepts are primarily of two forms; research reports describing research into aspects of

Cooperative Education and Work Integrated Learning/Education, and topical discussion articles that review relevant literature

and give critical explorative discussion around a topical issue.

The Journal does also accept best practice papers but only if it present a unique or innovative practice of a Co-op/WIL program

that is likely to be of interest to the broader Co-op/WIL community. The Journal also accepts a limited number of Book Reviews

of relevant and recently published books.

Research reports should contain; an introduction that describes relevant literature and sets the context of the inquiry, a

description and justification for the methodology employed, a description of the research findings-tabulated as appropriate, a

discussion of the importance of the findings including their significance for practitioners, and a conclusion preferably

incorporating suggestions for further research.

Topical discussion articles should contain a clear statement of the topic or issue under discussion, reference to relevant

literature, critical discussion of the importance of the issues, and implications for other researchers and practitioners.

http://www.apjce.org/instructions-for-authors

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.apjce.org/


EDITORIAL BOARD

Editor-in-Chief

Dr. Karsten Zegwaard University of Waikato, New Zealand

Copy Editor

Yvonne Milbank Asia-Pacific Journal of Cooperative Education

Editorial Board Members

Ms. Diana Ayling Unitec, New Zealand

Mr. Matthew Campbell Queensland Institute of Business and Technology, Australia

Dr. Sarojni Choy Griffith University, Australia

Prof. Richard K. Coll University of Fiji, Fiji

Prof. Rick Cummings Murdoch University, Australia

Prof. Leigh Deves Charles Darwin University, Australia

Dr. Maureen Drysdale University of Waterloo, Canada

Dr. Chris Eames University of Waikato, New Zealand

Mrs. Sonia Ferns Curtin University, Australia

Ms. Jenny Fleming Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand

Dr. Phil Gardner Michigan State University

Dr. Thomas Groenewald University of South Africa, South Africa

Dr. Kathryn Hays Massey University, New Zealand

Prof. Joy Higgs Charles Sturt University, Australia

Ms. Katharine Hoskyn Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand

Dr. Sharleen Howison Otago Polytechnic, New Zealand

Dr. Denise Jackson Edith Cowan University, Australia

Dr. Nancy Johnston Simon Fraser University, Canada

Dr. Mark Lay University of Waikato, New Zealand

Assoc. Prof. Andy Martin Massey University, New Zealand

Ms. Susan McCurdy University of Waikato, New Zealand

Ms. Norah McRae University of Victoria, Canada

Prof. Beverly Oliver Deakin University, Australia

Assoc. Prof. Janice Orrell Flinders University, Australia

Dr. Deborah Peach Queensland University of Technology, Australia

Dr. David Skelton Eastern Institute of Technology, New Zealand

Prof. Heather Smigiel Flinders University, Australia

Dr. Calvin Smith Brisbane Workplace Mediations, Australia

Prof. Neil Taylor University of New England, Australia

Ms. Susanne Taylor University of Johannesburg, South Africa

Assoc. Prof. Franziska Trede Charles Sturt University, Australia

Ms. Genevieve Watson University of Western Sydney, Australia

Prof. Neil I. Ward University of Surrey, United Kingdom

Dr. Nick Wempe Whitireia Community Polytechnic, New Zealand

Dr. Marius L. Wessels Tshwane University of Technology, South Africa

Dr. Theresa Winchester-Seeto Macquarie University, Australia

Asia-Pacific Journal of Cooperative Education

www.apjce.org

Publisher: New Zealand Association for Cooperatives Education



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